Cardinal High School says no more homework excuses

by Tess Hedrick

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:35:45 GMT —

Cardinal High School students may want to think twice about not turning in their homework assignments.

As a result of too many students simply taking a zero for missed assignments, a policy has been implemented to hopefully alleviate this problem. Instead of a zero being given, the student will have until that Friday afternoon at 3:30 to finish the assigned task. If this deadline passes, then the student will have to come to school on Saturday morning for two hours and work on homework.

â??We already are seeing an ncrease in their grades. Grades are better, less missing work, and we just feel like the kids are buying into it pretty well,â?? says Cardinal Superintendent Joel Pedersen.

Students donâ??t want to come to school on a Saturday so more students are putting the time into completing their homework assignments.

All teachers have access to an electronic spread sheet that shows exactly what assignments students are missing.

â??A kid might see seven different teachers that ask them where their assignment for math is and the kids just kind of get tired of asking where the assignment is by seven different teachers. Whether or not they are your math teacher, they're going to ask you â??have you turned in such and such work,â?? so I think it's kind of like wearing them down, but also letting them know we care about them.â?? said Pedersen.

This policy has gotten a lot of support from the studentsâ?? parents. They donâ??t have to hound on their kids as much to get their homework finished. If transportation is a concern for students on Saturdays, staff will take them to and from school.

â??Itâ??s just accredited to our teachers for their extra work. They donâ??t ask for compensation on Saturdays when they come in off the contract,â?? said Pedersen.

Cardinal High School staff wants all of their students to succeed and are going the extra mile to make sure that happens.

â??Weâ??ve told them that homework completion is important. It helps prepare them for being responsible as they get to be adults,â?? said Pedersen.